Liquid dispenser for dispensing water and a flavored beverage

ABSTRACT

A liquid dispensing apparatus for dispensing water and a flavored beverage. The dispensing apparatus may dispense chilled drinking water, hot drinking water and/or ambient temperature drinking water. The dispensing apparatus may further dispense a chilled, ambient temperature and/or hot flavored beverage. The flavored beverage may be coffee, tea, hot chocolate or another flavored beverage. The dispensing apparatus may include a replaceable five (5) gallon water bottle stored in a lower portion of the dispensing apparatus or an external source of water. Preferably, the liquid dispensing apparatus dispenses chilled drinking water and hot coffee from a replaceable five (5) gallon water bottle stored in a lower portion of the dispensing apparatus wherein the replaceable five (5) gallon water bottle is stored in an upright orientation, i.e., the discharge port of the replaceable five (5) gallon water bottle is oriented above a bottom of the replaceable five (5) gallon water bottle.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a dispensing apparatus fordispensing water and a flavored beverage. The dispensing apparatus maydispense chilled drinking water, hot drinking water and/or ambienttemperature drinking water. The dispensing apparatus may dispense achilled, ambient temperature and/or hot flavored beverage. The flavoredbeverage may be coffee, tea, hot chocolate or another flavored beverage.The dispensing apparatus may include a replaceable five (5) gallon waterbottle stored in a lower portion of a housing of the dispensingapparatus in an upright orientation, i.e., wherein the discharge port ofthe replaceable five (5) gallon water bottle is oriented above a bottomof the replaceable five (5) gallon water bottle. In its most preferredform, the present invention is directed to a liquid dispensing apparatusfor dispensing chilled drinking water and hot coffee or another hotflavored beverage. However, in place of an internal water source (e.g.,five (5) gallon water bottle) the dispensing apparatus can be connectedto a water source external to the dispensing apparatus. For example, thedispensing apparatus could be connected to the water system of abuilding structure (e.g., house, office building, hotel, etc.). In thisinstance, the dispensing apparatus may be provided with a filter systemlocated in an interior of the housing of the dispensing apparatus toensure the quality of water dispensed from the dispensing apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Existing water dispensers use gravity as the driving force to dispensewater from the water dispenser. In this type of water dispenser, thewater bottle is positioned above the dispensing location. Thesedispensers are referred to as “Top-Loading” water dispensers.Top-Loading water dispensers typically include means for receiving afive (5) gallon water bottle at the uppermost portion of the waterdispenser. Five (5) gallon water bottles are quite heavy making itdifficult for some individuals to mount the water bottle on theuppermost portion of the water cooler. Top-Loading water dispenserstypically dispense water for human consumption. Therefore, it isimportant that the water contact surfaces of the water dispenser beperiodically cleaned. The cleaning process is generally known as“sanitization.” U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,361,942 and 5,439,145 discloseTop-Loading water dispensers designed to improve the sanitizationprocess. Ebac Limited sells Top-Loading water dispensers designed toimprove the sanitization process utilizing at least some of the featuresdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,361,942 and 5,439,145 including theremovable manifold unit, reservoir and associated plastic or rubbertubing. This removable assembly is marketed under the Ebac Limitedtrademark WATERTRAIL.

To overcome the problems of Top-Loading water dispensers, waterdispensers in which the water bottle is stored in the lower portion ofthe water dispenser have been proposed. Since these systems cannot relyupon gravity to dispense drinking water, pumps are typically employed topump the drinking water to the dispensing location located above thewater bottle. These types of water dispensers are referred to herein as“Bottom-Loading” water dispensers. An example of such a water dispenseris disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0072813. Bottom-Loadingwater dispensers address the water bottle installation problemsassociated with Top-Loading water dispensers. However, Bottom-Loadingwater dispensers employ significantly more water contact components thanTop-Loading water dispensers and, therefore, are more difficult tosanitize effectively. Ebac Limited introduced a Bottom-Loading waterdispenser under the trademark EASYLOADER with a removable WATERTRAIL inan effort to make sanitization easier. However, this water dispenser wasexpensive to produce and has not succeeded commercially.

The bottom-Loading liquid dispensers disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.8,887,955 and 9,527,714 have a number of advantageous features includingbut not limited to the removable liquid transport assembly that can bereadily and easily removed for cleaning or replacement. Both top-loadingand bottom-loading liquid dispensers are designed to dispense water atvarious temperatures but are unable to also dispense a flavored beveragefrom the dispenser. One liquid dispenser previously marketed under thetrademark AQUACAFE® was designed to dispense both water and coffee.However, this liquid dispenser has a number of inherent disadvantagesincluding the inability to readily remove and clean and/or replace thecoffee dispensing assembly and the water dispensing assembly.

Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved liquid dispenser thatdispenses both water and one or more flavored beverages.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel and unobviousliquid dispenser for dispensing water and a flavored beverage.

Another object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is toprovide a liquid dispenser with a flavored beverage dispensing assemblyconfigured to allow a user to readily remove the flavored beveragedispensing assembly to clean or replace the flavored beverage dispensingassembly.

A further object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention isto provide a liquid dispenser with a flavored beverage dispensingassembly configured such that all parts of the flavored beveragedispensing assembly coming into contact with water and/or a flavoredbeverage are readily removable from a housing of the liquid dispenser toallow cleaning or replacement of the flavored beverage dispensingassembly.

Yet another object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention isto provide a liquid dispenser with a removable water dispensing assemblyand a removable flavored beverage dispensing assembly configured to bereadily removable from a housing of the liquid dispenser to allowcleaning or replacement of the flavored beverage dispensing assembly andthe water dispensing assembly.

Yet a further object of a preferred embodiment of the present inventionis to provide a liquid dispenser with a removable water dispensingassembly and a removable flavored beverage dispensing assembly whereinthe removable flavored beverage dispensing assembly is connected to saidremovable water dispensing assembly to receive water from said removablewater dispensing assembly.

Still another object of a preferred embodiment of the present inventionis to provide a removable water dispensing assembly and flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly that are relatively inexpensive tomanufacture while allowing for effective sanitization and/or replacementof the water dispensing assembly and the flavored beverage dispensingassembly.

A still further object of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is to provide a liquid dispenser with a water dispensingassembly, a flavored dispensing assembly, a single water pump and acontrol system and/or other features (e.g., a voltage reducer)configured to supply water to the flavored dispensing assembly at alower pressure than water discharged from the liquid dispenser throughthe water dispensing assembly.

Yet still a further object of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is to provide a liquid dispenser with a main housing having amain housing cover moveable between an open position and a closedposition, a water dispensing assembly, a removable flavored dispensingassembly having a cover moveable between an open position and closedposition wherein when the main housing cover is in the open position theremovable flavored dispensing assembly can be readily removed from themain housing and when the cover of the removable flavored dispensingassembly is in the open position and the main housing cover is in theclosed position, a single serving flavored beverage pod can be readilyremoved or inserted into the removable flavored dispensing assembly butthe removable flavored dispensing assembly cannot be removed from themain housing.

It must be understood that no one embodiment of the present inventionneed include all of the aforementioned objects of the present invention.Rather, a given embodiment may include one or none of the aforementionedobjects. Accordingly, these objects are not to be used to limit thescope of the claims of the present invention.

In summary, one preferred embodiment of the present invention isdirected to a liquid dispenser for dispensing water and a flavoredbeverage. The liquid dispenser includes a water dispensing assembly, aflavored beverage dispensing assembly and a main water storagecontainer. The liquid dispenser further includes a main housing forstoring at least a portion of the water dispensing assembly, at least aportion of the flavored beverage dispensing assembly and the main waterstorage container. The flavored beverage dispensing assembly has a podreceiving member for receiving a pod for dispensing a single-servingflavored beverage. The flavored beverage dispensing assembly isremovable from the housing so that the flavored beverage dispensingassembly can be replaced or sanitized.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is directed to aliquid dispenser for dispensing water and a flavored beverage. Theliquid dispenser includes a water dispensing assembly, a flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly and a water storage container. The liquiddispenser further includes a liquid dispenser housing for storing atleast a portion of the water dispensing assembly, at least a portion ofthe flavored beverage dispensing assembly and the water storagecontainer. The flavored beverage dispensing assembly is removable fromthe liquid dispenser housing so that the flavored beverage dispensingassembly can be replaced or sanitized. The water dispensing assembly isremovable from the liquid dispenser housing so that the water dispensingassembly can be replaced or sanitized. The water dispensing assembly isconnected to the water storage container to receive water from the waterstorage container. The flavored beverage dispensing assembly isconnected to the water dispensing assembly to receive water from thewater dispensing assembly.

A further preferred embodiment of the present invention is directed to aliquid dispenser for dispensing water and a flavored beverage. Theliquid dispenser includes a water dispensing assembly, a flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly and a water storage container. The liquiddispenser further includes a liquid dispenser housing for storing atleast a portion of the water dispensing assembly, at least a portion ofthe flavored beverage dispensing assembly and the water storagecontainer. A single water pump for pumping water from the water storagecontainer to the water dispensing assembly and the flavored beverageassembly. A control system is operably connected to the single waterpump to supply water to the flavored beverage dispensing assembly at alower pressure than water discharged from the liquid dispenser by thewater dispensing assembly.

The above preferred forms of the present invention described aboveprovide various examples of preferred embodiments of the presentinvention and are not to be construed as limiting the present inventionto any of the preferred forms described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a liquid dispenser formed in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1A is a fragmentary perspective view of the liquid dispenserdepicted in FIG. 1 with the lower front panel/portion slid upwardly toreveal the replaceable five (5) gallon water bottle.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of the liquiddispenser depicted in FIG. 1 with the cover of the removable flavoredbeverage assembly in the open position.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the control panel of the liquid dispenserdepicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of the liquiddispenser depicted in FIG. 1 with the cover of the removable flavoredbeverage assembly in the closed position.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of the liquiddispenser depicted in FIG. 4 with the secondary cup support shown in astorage position.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of the liquiddispenser depicted in FIG. 1 with the cover of the liquid dispenser inthe open position.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of the liquiddispenser depicted in FIG. 1 with the cover of the liquid dispenser inthe open position taken from a different vantage point.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of the liquiddispenser depicted in FIG. 1 with the cover of the liquid dispenser inthe open position and the locking members for the flavored beveragedispensing assembly in a locked position.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of the liquiddispenser depicted in FIG. 1 with the cover of the liquid dispenser inthe open position and the locking members for the flavored beveragedispensing assembly in an un-locked position.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of the liquiddispenser depicted in FIG. 1 with the cover of the liquid dispenser inthe open position and the flavored beverage dispensing assembly removedfrom the liquid dispenser.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of the liquiddispenser depicted in FIG. 1 with portions thereof removed so variousinternal components are more readily visible.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged and fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG.11.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of a preferred form of flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly with the cover of the flavored beveragedispensing assembly in the open position.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a preferred form of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 is another schematic view of a preferred form of the presentinvention with dashed lines indicating the components that can bereadily removed from the main housing of the liquid dispenser.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional view of one of manyforms of removable water dispensing assembly.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of removable water dispensing assemblyand associated components for connecting the water dispensing assemblyto the removable and replaceable water storage container.

FIGS. 18 to 20 are perspective views of one of many forms of watermanifold for the removable water dispensing assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The preferred form of the invention will now be described with referenceto FIGS. 1-20. The appended claims are not limited to the preferred formand no term and/or phrase used herein is to be given a meaning otherthan its ordinary meaning unless it is expressly stated otherwise.

FIGS. 1 Through 20

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 20, a liquid dispenser A employing a preferredform of the invention is illustrated in one of many possibleconfigurations. In the most preferred form, liquid dispenser A dispenseswater and a flavored beverage for human consumption. The water andflavored beverage dispensed by liquid dispenser A may be chilled,ambient temperature and/or hot. The flavored beverages may include butare not limited to coffee, tea and/or hot chocolate.

Liquid dispenser A includes a main housing B having a substantiallyhollow internal cavity for housing components of the liquid dispenser, aliquid dispensing location C and a hollow liquid storage containersection 1 (see FIG. 1A) formed in a bottom portion D of main housing Bfor receiving and storing a liquid storage container E in an uprightorientation. One or more portion of the lower portion of main housing Bmay be removable or moveable (see, for example FIG. 1A, showing a lowerfront panel that can slide upwardly to allow access to liquid storagecontainer E) to allow an individual to access, remove and replace liquidstorage container E.

Liquid dispenser A further includes a cover F pivotally connected to arear portion of main housing B. Any suitable latch mechanism may be usedto permit the forward edge of the cover F to be secured to and releasedfrom a corresponding front edge of main housing B so that cover F canmove between a closed, latched position shown in, for example, FIG. 1and an open, unlatched position shown in, for example, FIG. 6.

The liquid storage container E is preferably a replaceable five (5)gallon water bottle oriented in an upright manner. However, it is to beunderstood that the source of water could be varied including but notlimited to an inverted water source (e.g., inverted replaceable five (5)gallon water bottle) mounted on the top of main housing B or a watersource external to main housing B.

Referring to, for example, FIGS. 1 and 2, an upper/secondary cup supportmember G is detachably and/or pivotally connected to a front face of anexterior of main housing B above a lower/primary cup support member anddrain/drip tray H. A plurality of flanges/lips/pockets may be formed inthe front face of the exterior surface of main housing B one above theother to provide multiple optional height locations for cup supportmember G. Similarly, cup support member G preferably has a complimentarystructure for mating with the flanges/lips/pockets formed in front faceof the exterior of main housing B. Cup support member G may be pivotallyor otherwise connected to the front face of the exterior of main housingB so that cup support member G may be moved between an operatingposition (see, e.g., FIG. 1) and a storage position (see, e.g., FIG. 5).

Cup support member G preferably includes a plurality of uniformly spacedopenings 2 to allow liquid spilled while filling a cup mounted on memberG to pass through one or more openings 4 formed in cup support and drainH and be collected in the hollow internal cavity formed in body 6 of cupsupport and drain H. Similarly, liquid spillage while a cup is mountedon the upper surface of cup support and drain H will be directed throughopenings 4 and collected in the hollow internal cavity formed in body 6.Body 6 may be removable from main housing B to allow liquid collected inthe internal hollow cavity to be emptied. Alternatively, body 6 may havea drain allowing liquid collected in body 6 to be emptied.

The liquid dispenser A further preferably includes a water dispensingassembly I and a flavored beverage dispensing assembly J operablyconnected to the liquid storage container E as discussed in greaterdetail below. Water dispensing assembly I and flavored beveragedispensing assembly J are preferably independently removable from mainhousing B so that either or both dispensing assemblies can be replacedor removed and sanitized or otherwise cleaned.

Water dispensing assembly I may take the form of any of the liquidtransport assemblies disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,887,955 and/or9,527,714. However, water dispensing assembly I may take many otherforms including but not limited to a non-removable water dispensingassembly.

Referring to, for example, FIGS. 14, 15 and 17 to 20, removable waterdispensing assembly I preferably includes a removable liquidtransport/manifold assembly 7. The removable liquid transport/manifoldassembly 7 includes a substantially rigid conduit housing 8 removablyconnected to a substantially rigid liquid manifold 10 in the mannerdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,887,955 and/or 9,527,714, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Conduit housing8 and manifold 10 may be formed out of any suitable material includingplastic. Any suitable fasteners may be used to removably secure conduithousing 8 to liquid manifold 10. Further, it will be readily appreciatedthat conduit housing 8 may be permanently fixed to liquid manifold 10 ormay be formed as one piece with liquid manifold 10.

Conduit housing 8 preferably houses a cold water dispense/pinch tube 12and a dispensing nozzle 14. In the most preferred form, pinch tube 12and the dispensing nozzle 14 are formed from a single piece of siliconrubber. However, the pinch tube 12 and the dispensing nozzle 14 could beformed from separate pieces that are connected in a fluid tight manner.

Referring to, for example, FIGS. 14 to 20, liquid manifold 10 includeslower chambers 16 and 17, an upper chamber 18 and a small vent hole 20.Liquid manifold 10 further includes an internally threaded collar 22 anda secondary dispensing port 24. Preferably, lower chamber 16 is smallerthan lower chamber 17 as seen in, for example, FIG. 19.

As seen in, for example, FIG. 20, cover plate 19 separates lower chamber16 and lower chamber 17. Opening 21 formed in cover plate 19 allowsliquid to pass from lower chamber 16 to lower chamber 17. Lower chamber17 and upper chamber 18 share wall portion 23. Further, wall portion 23forms the lowermost portion of upper chamber 18.

As seen in, for example, FIG. 16, removable liquid transport/manifoldassembly 7 further includes a reservoir 26 having a neck portion withexternal threads corresponding to the internal threads of collar 22 sothat the reservoir 26 can be readily connected to and detached fromliquid manifold 10.

Reservoir 26 is preferably removably seated in a reservoir housingmounted in main housing B. The reservoir housing is preferably connectedto or formed integral with a chilling or cooling element to chill orcool water in reservoir 26 to any desired temperature. The reservoirhousing and cooling element may take the form disclosed in U.S. Pat.Nos. 8,887,955 and/or 9,527,714 or may take any other suitable form. Itwill be readily appreciated that reservoir 26 may be connected to liquidmanifold 10 in numerous ways other than the threaded connectiondescribed above.

As seen in, for example, FIG. 17, removable water dispensing assembly Ifurther preferably includes a reservoir dip tube 28, a pump head 30, avalve assembly 32, a riser tube 34 and a liquid storage container diptube 36 having a connecting member 38 for removably connecting theliquid storage container dip tube 36 to the lower end 40 of riser tube34. As shown in, for example, FIG. 1A, the liquid storage container diptube 36 extends into liquid storage container E through cap 42 ofcontainer E. Pump head 30 and valve assembly 32 may take any of theforms disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,887,955 and/or 9,527,714 or may takeany other suitable form. Pump head 30 may be detachably connected tosuction pump 41 housed in main housing B.

When cover F is in the open position (see, e.g., FIG. 6), and riser tube34 is disconnected from connecting member 38 of dip tube 36, allcomponents shown in FIG. 17 other than the dip tube 36, connectingmember 38 and cap 42 can be readily removed from main housing B.Alternatively, once cap 42 is disconnected from the liquid storagecontainer E all components shown in FIG. 17 can be readily removed frommain housing B. As seen in, for example, FIG. 8, a locking member 39 maybe provided which includes a horizontally extending pivotal member 41and a vertically extending latch member 43 detachably connected tomember 41 and biased in a locking position to prevent removal of waterdispensing assembly I. Once latch member 43 is moved to the right (asseen in FIG. 8) by a sufficient force to overcome the spring bias,member 41 can pivot and move upwardly and to the left to allow removalof various components of water dispensing assembly I as described above.

As seen in, for example, FIGS. 14 and 15, secondary dispensing port 24is preferably connected to a hot water reservoir 44 by way of hot feedconnector 46 and conduit 47. Hot feed connector 46 is configured toreleasably connect port 24 to conduit 47 so that water dispensingassembly I can be readily removed from main housing B. For example, onceany locking member 39 is released, water dispenser assembly I may beraised by an individual to a point where hot feed connector 46 isaccessible to an individual to allow the individual to detach connector46 and/or conduit 47 from water dispensing assembly I to permit removalof water dispensing assembly I from main housing B. Alternatively,dispenser A may be configured such that when cover F is in the openposition, the individual can access connector 46 and/or the end ofconduit 47 connected to reservoir 44 so that water dispensing assembly Ican be removed. Further, dispenser A may be configured such that whencover F is in the open position and any locking member 39 is moved to anunlocked position and member 7 is raised by an individual, port 24detaches from connector 46 by the lifting force exerted on waterdispensing assembly I.

Hot water reservoir 44 is associated with a heating element for heatingwater stored in reservoir 44. For example, reservoir 44 may be housed ina support member operably associated/connected to any suitable heatingelement. Alternatively, the heating element may be disposed in reservoir44.

Cold water dispensing lever 45 controls the flow of chilled water fromreservoir 26 through dispensing nozzle 14 to dispense cold water fromdispenser A. Referring to FIG. 14, a pinch valve 48 is operablyassociated with cold water tap lever 45 to control the flow of chilledwater out dispensing nozzle 14. Specifically, pinch valve 48 acts onpinch tube 12 in a well-known manner to prevent the flow of chilledwater out dispensing nozzle 14 until such time as lever 45 is depressed.A spring may bias lever 45 upwardly causing pinch valve 48 to close offpinch tube 12.

Once the biasing force of the spring is overcome by a person depressinglever 45, a micro switch activates self-priming suction pump 41 storedin main housing B and detachably connected to pump head 30 to pump waterfrom container E upwardly through dip tube 36 and riser tube 34. Theliquid travels through valve assembly 32 and pump head 30 and passesinto lower chamber 17 through opening 21. Liquid flowing through chamber17 empties into reservoir 26 (which chills the water stored therein)which in turn causes chilled water stored in reservoir 26 to passupwardly through dip tube 28 into upper chamber 18 and out dispensingnozzle 14. Pump head 30, valve assembly 32 and the suction pump 41 maytake the form disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,887,955 and/or 9,527,714 orany other suitable form.

A preferred form of removable flavored beverage dispensing assembly Jwill now be described with references to FIGS. 1 to 15. As seen in, forexample, FIGS. 2, 10 and 13, flavored beverage dispensing assembly Jincludes a housing 50 having an internal cavity 51 for receiving andstoring an optional pod receiving member 52 and a single-servingflavored beverage pod 54 removably seated in pod receiving member 52.Pod receiving member 52 can be omitted by merely configuring an innerportion of housing 50 to directly receive a flavored beverage pod 54.The single-serving flavored beverage pod 54 includes contents which whenmixed with water create a flavored beverage. For example, flavoredbeverage pod 54 may include coffee forming contents (e.g., coffeegrounds), which create coffee when mixed with water. While pod 54 hasbeen described as a single-serving flavored beverage pod, pod 54 coulddispense two or more servings. The contents of pod 54 may be readilyvaried to dispense any suitable flavored beverage suitable for humanconsumption when mixed with water.

Preferably, pod receiving member 52 is removable from housing 50 andincludes a finger receptacle 53 sized to receive an individual's fingerto allow the individual to readily remove receptacle 53 from housing 50simply by lifting receptacle 53. Housing 50 preferably includes a cover56 pivotally connected to a rear or back portion of housing 50 to allowcover 56 to pivot between an open position shown in, for example, FIGS.2 and 13, and a closed position show in, for example, FIG. 1. It shouldbe noted that cover 56 may be releasably connected to the body of thehousing 50 in any other suitable manner.

Any suitable locking or latch mechanism 57 may be used to releasablyconnect cover 56 to the body of housing 50. Alternatively, flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly J can be formed without a cover that can beopened and closed. In this scenario, flavored beverage dispensingassembly J can be removed and replaced with each serving or servings ofa flavored beverage.

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 9, 11 and 13, housing 50 includes arcuate shapedrecessed locking portions 60 and 62 formed in the exterior of housing 50for receiving locking or latch members 64 and 66, respectively. Lockingor latch members 64 and 66 can take the form of turn-button type latchesor locks that rotate about a vertically extending member/pin between anon-locking or non-latching position (see, e.g., FIG. 9) to a locking orlatching position (see, e.g., FIG. 8). Locking portions 60 and 62 eachinclude an arcuate shaped and inwardly extending cavity 68 and bottomwall portion 70. The arcuate cavity 68 receives a complimentary shapedend portion of the corresponding members 64 and 66. Bottom wall portion70 prevents upward movement of dispensing assembly J when thecorresponding members 64 and 66 are in the latched or locked position.

Dispensing assembly J includes a substantially rigid hollow arm 72 and adispensing nozzle 74 extending downwardly from arm 72 as seen in, forexample, FIG. 13. Housing 50 further includes a hot water inlet port 76,a water conduit 78 and a lid switch actuator 80. Cover 56 includes a podpiercing member 82 having a plurality of openings 83 preferably formedin an exterior surface of member 82. Water conduit 78 is connected topod piercing member 82.

When cover 56 is closed and a pod 52 is in housing 50, member 82 piercesthe upper surface of pod 54 and openings 83 in member 82 are disposed inpod 54 so that water delivered to and passing through conduit 78 isdelivered directly into pod 54. Housing 50 is configured to allow liquidto pass through pod 54 into a lower portion of internal cavity 51 ofhousing 50. Internal cavity 51 is connected to arm 72 so that a flavoredbeverage created by water passing through pod 54 passes into the hollowcavity of arm 72 and out dispensing nozzle 74.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, liquid dispenser A further includes asteam release valve 90 operably connected to reservoir 44 to releasesteam from reservoir 44 as may be necessary. Valve 90 can be manually orautomatically activated.

Reservoir 44 is connected to a hot water dispense conduit 92 as shownin, for example, FIGS. 11, 14 and 15 via conduit 93 to dispense hotwater from dispenser A without passing through flavored beveragedispensing assembly J. A lower end of conduit 93 preferably terminatesin an upper portion of reservoir 44 so that hot or heated water isdelivered to hot water dispense conduit 92.

Hot water tap lever 94 controls the flow of hot water from reservoir 44through dispensing conduit 92. A secondary or safety control (e.g.,safety button) may be operably connected to lever 94 to prevent hotwater from being dispensed even when lever 94 has been activated, i.e.,hot water is only dispensed when the safety button and lever 94 are bothactivated. Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, a pinch valve 96 is operablyassociated with hot water tap lever 94 to control the flow of hot orheated water out dispensing conduit 92. Specifically, pinch valve 96acts on conduit 92 in a well-known manner to prevent the flow of hot orheated water out dispensing conduit 92 until such time as lever 94 isdepressed. A spring may bias lever 94 upwardly causing pinch valve 96 toclose off conduit 92. Once the biasing force of the spring is overcomeby a person depressing lever 94 and any existing safety button istriggered or activated, a micro switch activates self-priming suctionpump 41 to direct water out secondary port 24. Water travels throughconduit 46 and enters hot water reservoir 44 thereby forcing heatedwater out of reservoir 44 into conduit 93 and out dispensing conduit 92.While pinch valves are described above to control the flow of water fromthe hot and cold water dispensing conduits/nozzles, any other suitablecontrol mechanism may be used to control the flow of hot water and coldwater from liquid dispenser A.

Conduit 100 is connected at one end to tube 93 and at the other end toflavored beverage feed connector 102 which in turn is connected to thewater inlet port 76 extending downwardly from a lower surface of housing50. Preferably, flavored beverage feed connector 102 includes a shut-offvalve so that once flavored beverage feed connector 102 is disconnectedfrom water inlet port 76 water cannot flow out conduit 100. A flowmeasuring unit/device 106 is connected to conduit 100 to measure theflow of water through conduit 100. A solenoid valve 108 is connected toconduit 100 to control the flow of hot water to inlet port 76. A switch110 detects when cover 56 is in a closed position.

Liquid dispenser A includes a control panel 120 as shown in, forexample, FIG. 3 for activating the flavored beverage dispensing assemblyJ to dispense a flavored beverage from liquid dispenser A.

The separation of flavored beverage dispensing assembly J and theflavored beverage feed connector 102 (e.g., when cover 56 is opened andthe flavored beverage dispensing assembly J is removed from housing 50)causes the shut-off valve of the flavored beverage feed connector 102 toclose. The shut-off valve in the flavored beverage feed connector 102 isoptional as it is a redundant shut-off mechanism. Specifically, whencover 56 is open, the control system is preferably configured to closesolenoid valve 108 to prevent water from flowing to flavored beveragedispensing assembly J. Removal of flavored beverage dispensing assemblyJ will have the same affect.

Indicator light 136 will flash if the water is not heated to a suitabletemperature for dispensing a flavored beverage. Typically, there issufficient hot water in reservoir 44 as the control system is preferablyconfigured to periodically refill reservoir 44. However, if a user orusers have operated the dispenser such that successive hot waterdispense conditions have occurred (e.g., multiple hot water onlydispenses or multiple hot flavored beverage dispenses or a combinationthereof) in a short period, it may be necessary to heat the water(continuously replenished by the system) in the reservoir 44 before asubsequent hot water dispense can occur be it hot water dispense only ora hot flavored beverage dispense. When the water is at a suitabletemperature for dispensing a flavored beverage, indicator lights 132 and134 will be illuminated to inform the user that the dispenser is readyto brew and a flavored beverage pod needs to be loaded.

When cover 56 is closed (e.g., as would occur once a user has loaded aflavored beverage pod and closed cover 56 in response to theillumination of indicator lights 132 and 134), the indicator light 124is lit to signal to the user to select a cup size from among an 8 oz.activation member 126, a 10 oz. activation member 128 and a 12 oz.activation member 130 so that a flavored beverage of the selectedquantity is dispensed from liquid dispenser A. It is to be noted thatthe size or quantity of flavored beverage dispensed from dispenser A maybe readily varied as desired. The select cup size feature is timesensitive, i.e., if one of the activation members 126, 128 and 130 arenot selected within a predetermined time period from the initialillumination of indicator light 124 (e.g., ten seconds) the brewingprocess resets/stops and the system waits for a subsequent occurrence ofcover 56 being closed before the brewing process is restarted. Afterinitial activation of one of the activation members 126, 128 and 130, auser can activate another of activation members 126, 128 and 130 tochange the quantity of the flavored beverage dispensed from the user'sprior or initial selection provided that the subsequent activationoccurs within ten seconds or other predetermined time period of theimmediately previous selection (i.e., timing out of the system occursafter a predetermined period of inactivity).

Upon activation of one of activations members 126, 128 and 130, breweractivation member 122 illuminates to signal to the user to activate thismember to dispense the selected quantity of flavored beverage. Once themember 122 is activated, the selected quantity of flavored beverage isdispensed. Flow meter 106 ensures that the quantity of hot waterconveyed to assembly J corresponds to the serving size selected by theuser using activation members 126, 128 and 130. Activation of member 122is also time sensitive, i.e., if member 122 is not activated within apredetermined time period from the most recent cup size selection (e.g.,ten seconds) the brewing process resets/stops and the system waits for asubsequent occurrence of cover 56 being closed before the brewingprocess is restarted. If the brewing process times out either due to theuser not timely selecting one of activation members 126, 128 and 130 ornot timely activating member 122, the user need only open and reclosecover 56 to restart the brewing process. During brewing, if the press tobrew button 122 is activated for a prolonged period (e.g., five seconds)the brewing process is terminated and will not recommence until cover 56is opened and closed.

Pump 41 that conveys water from the five (5) gallon water bottle to thecold water and hot water dispensing conduits/nozzles is preferablyoperated at 12 volts. The same pump 41 pumps water to the flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly J and water dispensing assembly I.Specifically, during the flavored beverage dispensing process, pump 41pumps water into liquid manifold 10 and out discharge port 24 and theninto reservoir 44. When lever 94 is not activated, which is the casewhen dispensing a flavored beverage, hot water exits reservoir 44 andtravels into conduit 100 and into conduit 78. Hot water travels throughpiercing member 82 and into pod 54 and ultimately out nozzle 74. As itwill be readily appreciated, solenoid valve 108 and the shut-off valvein connector 102 must be open for hot water to travel in the manner justdescribed.

However, when pump 41 (e.g., a 12 volt pump or any other suitablevoltage pump) is operated at a maximum pump output continuously (i.e.,without interruption of any kind) for the time period necessary fordispensing a hot flavored beverage, the pressure of the water suppliedto flavored beverage dispensing assembly J will likely be too highcausing spillage of hot water or other undesirable consequences. Thepressure of water supplied by pump 41 to flavored beverage dispensingassembly J is preferably reduced to an acceptable level by usingelectronic pulse width modulation at a very high frequency incombination with cycling the pump 41 between an on cycle and an offcycle. In the on cycle, the transistor switch is on and full power issupplied to pump 41. In the off cycle, the transistor switch is off andpump 41 is off as no power is supplied to pump 41. In a most preferredform, the on cycle is two seconds and the off cycle is three seconds.However, these time periods can be readily varied as desired. The on-offcycling reduces the pressure of the water supplied by pump 41 toflavored beverage dispensing assembly J from that of the pressure ofwater supplied by pump 41 during the cold and hot water dispensingcycles resulting from activation of levers 45 and 94.

Electronic pulse width modulation is used during the on cycle in whichthe transistor switch activating pump 41 remains on for the entireduration of the on cycle to further lower the pressure of water suppliedby pump 41 to flavored beverage dispensing assembly J. Morespecifically, electronic pulse width modulation causes a series ofon-off pulses varying the duty cycle of the pump the fraction of timethat the output voltage is on compared to when it is off while keepingthe frequency constant. For example, the on pulse could be 50milliseconds and the off pulse could be 50 milliseconds. Alternatively,the on pulse could be longer than the off pulse, for example 60milliseconds on and 40 milliseconds off. The on-off pulsing furtherlowers the pressure of the water pumped by pump 41 from the pressureadjustment achieved by the on-off cycling.

A voltage reducer or other motor control can be used to achieve thenecessary reduction in the pressure of water supplied to flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly J.

When the correct amount of water has flowed to flavored beveragedispensing assembly J as determined by flow meter 106, the pump stopsand after a short delay to allow the pressure to reduce the solenoidvalve 108 is closed. After the selected amount (e.g., 8 oz., 10 oz. or12 oz) of the flavored beverage has been dispensed, air pump 150 isactivated for a predetermined period (e.g., preferably a short period)to flush any residual water out of the single-serving pod and theflavored beverage dispensing assembly J to allow the user to remove thesingle-serving pod and/or the flavored beverage dispensing assembly Jwith minimal dripping upon removal of the single-serving pod and/or theflavored beverage dispensing assembly J. A one-way valve 152 preventswater from flowing back to air pump 150.

Preferably, when cover 56 is open, the solenoid valve, water pump andthe air pump are closed/off/inhibited/prevented from operating topreclude water and/or air from being directed to flavored beveragedispensing assembly J.

When the flavored beverage dispensing assembly J is removed, waterflowing to the flavored beverage dispensing assembly J is shut-off bythe closure of solenoid valve 108 and the closure of the shut-off valvein the brewer feed connector 102 and the cover detector switch isdeactivated simulating an open cover.

While flavored beverage dispensing assembly J has been shown as beingconnected to hot water reservoir 44 to deliver hot water to flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly J, it will be appreciated and within thescope of this invention that in addition to or in place of the hot waterconnection, flavored beverage dispensing J can be connected to liquidmanifold 10 so that chilled and/or ambient temperature water isdelivered to the pod 54, i.e., liquid dispenser A can be configured todispense a hot, chilled or ambient temperature flavored beverage or anycombination thereof.

While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, itis understood that the preferred design can be further modified oradapted following in general the principles of the invention andincluding but not limited to such departures from the present inventionas come within the known or customary practice in the art to which theinvention pertains. The claims are not limited to the preferredembodiment and have been written to preclude such a narrow constructionusing the principles of claim differentiation.

We claim:
 1. A liquid dispenser for dispensing water and a flavoredbeverage; said liquid dispenser comprising: (a) a water dispensingassembly, a flavored beverage dispensing assembly and a main waterstorage container, said liquid dispenser further including a mainhousing for storing at least a portion of the water dispensing assembly,at least a portion of the flavored beverage dispensing assembly and themain water storage container; (b) said flavored beverage dispensingassembly having a pod receiving member for receiving a pod fordispensing a single-serving flavored beverage, said flavored beveragedispensing assembly further including a housing for housing said podreceiving member; and, (c) said flavored beverage dispensing assemblybeing removable from said housing so that said flavored beveragedispensing assembly can be replaced or sanitized, said housing of saidflavored beverage dispensing assembly having at least one latchreceiving portion for receiving a pivotal latch, the pivotal latch isconfigured to pivot between a locking position where a portion of saidpivotal latch extends into said at least one latch receiving portion toprevent removal of said flavored beverage dispensing assembly and anon-locking position where no portion of said pivotal latch extends intosaid at least one latch receiving portion to allow removal of at least aportion of said flavored beverage dispensing assembly.
 2. A liquiddispenser as set forth in claim 1, wherein: (a) said water dispensingassembly is removable from said main housing so that said waterdispensing assembly can be replaced or sanitized.
 3. A liquid dispenseras set forth in claim 2, wherein: (a) said flavored beverage dispensingassembly further includes a water inlet port and a discharge port fordispensing a flavored beverage and wherein said flavored beveragedispensing assembly is configured such that upon removal of saidflavored beverage dispensing assembly from said main housing, said podreceiving member, said discharge port for dispensing a flavored beverageand said water inlet port of said flavored beverage dispensing assemblyare removed as a single unit.
 4. A liquid dispenser as set forth inclaim 3, wherein: (a) at least a portion of said discharge port fordispensing a flavored beverage is disposed outside of said main housing;and, (b) said water dispensing assembly includes a water discharge portfrom dispensing water, wherein said water discharge port is spaced fromsaid discharge port for dispensing a flavored beverage.
 5. A liquiddispenser as set forth in claim 4, wherein: (a) said housing of saidflavored beverage dispensing assembly includes a cover moveable betweenan open position and a closed position, when said cover of said flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly is in an open position a pod for dispensinga single-serving flavored beverage can be removed from or inserted insaid pod receiving member, said cover of said housing of said flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly is disposed outside of said main housing ofsaid liquid dispenser; and, (c) said main housing includes a mainhousing cover moveable between an open position and a closed position,when said main housing cover is in said open position an individual canaccess and remove said flavored beverage dispensing assembly and saidwater dispensing assembly.
 6. A liquid dispenser as set forth in claim5, further including: (a) at least one conduit for connecting said waterdispensing assembly to said flavored beverage dispensing assembly sothat water in said water dispensing assembly is conveyed to saidflavored beverage dispensing assembly.
 7. A liquid dispenser as setforth in claim 6, further including: (a) a heating element connected tosaid at least one conduit for delivering hot water to said flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly.
 8. A liquid dispenser for dispensing waterand a flavored beverage; said liquid dispenser comprising: (a) a waterdispensing assembly, a flavored beverage dispensing assembly and a waterstorage container, said liquid dispenser further including a liquiddispenser housing for storing at least a portion of the water dispensingassembly, at least a portion of the flavored beverage dispensingassembly and the water storage container; (b) said flavored beveragedispensing assembly being removable from said liquid dispenser housingso that said flavored beverage dispensing assembly can be replaced orsanitized, said flavored beverage dispensing assembly includes at leastone locking portion operably associated with a locking member, thelocking member is moveable between a locking position where a portion ofsaid locking member is connected to said at least one locking portion toprevent removal of said flavored beverage dispensing assembly and anon-locking position where no portion of said locking member isconnected to said at least one locking portion to allow removal of saidflavored beverage dispensing assembly; (c) said water dispensingassembly being removable from said liquid dispenser housing so that saidwater dispensing assembly can be replaced or sanitized; and, (d) saidwater dispensing assembly being connected to said water storagecontainer to receive water from said water storage container, saidflavored beverage dispensing assembly being connected to said waterdispensing assembly to receive water from said water dispensingassembly.
 9. A liquid dispenser as set forth in claim 8, wherein: (a)said flavored beverage dispensing assembly includes a pod receivingmember for receiving a pod for dispensing a single-serving flavoredbeverage; said flavored beverage dispensing assembly further includes awater inlet port and a discharge port for dispensing a flavored beverageand wherein said flavored beverage dispensing assembly is configuredsuch that upon removal of said flavored beverage dispensing assemblyfrom said liquid dispenser housing, said pod receiving member, saiddischarge port for dispensing a flavored beverage and said water inletport of said flavored beverage dispensing assembly are removed from saidliquid dispenser housing as a single unit.
 10. A liquid dispenser as setforth in claim 9, wherein: (a) at least a portion of said discharge portfor dispensing a flavored beverage is disposed outside of said liquiddispenser housing.
 11. A liquid dispenser as set forth in claim 10,wherein: (a) said flavored beverage dispensing assembly includes ahousing for housing said pod receiving member, said housing of saidflavored beverage dispensing assembly includes a cover moveable betweenan open position and a closed position, when said cover of said housingof said flavored beverage dispensing assembly is in an open position, apod for dispensing a single-serving flavored beverage can be removedfrom or inserted in said pod receiving member, said cover of saidhousing of said flavored beverage dispensing assembly is disposedoutside of said liquid dispenser housing; and, (c) said liquid dispenserhousing includes a liquid dispenser cover moveable between an openposition and a closed position, when said liquid dispenser cover is insaid open position an individual can access and remove said flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly and said water dispensing assembly.
 12. Aliquid dispenser as set forth in claim 8, further including: (a) atleast one conduit for connecting said water dispensing assembly to saidflavored beverage dispensing assembly so that water in said waterdispensing assembly is conveyed to said flavored beverage dispensingassembly.
 13. A liquid dispenser as set forth in claim 12, furtherincluding: (a) a heating element connected to said at least one conduitfor delivering heated water to said flavored beverage dispensingassembly.
 14. A liquid dispenser for dispensing water and a flavoredbeverage; said liquid dispenser comprising: (a) a water dispensingassembly and a flavored beverage dispensing assembly, said waterdispensing assembly including a water reservoir for storing water, saidwater reservoir extending downwardly from a liquid manifold, said liquiddispenser further including a main housing for storing at least aportion of the water dispensing assembly, at least a portion of theflavored beverage dispensing assembly, said water reservoir and a waterstorage container connected to said water reservoir by at least saidliquid manifold to provide water to said water reservoir, said waterstorage container being connected to and disposed below said liquidmanifold, said liquid dispenser further including a main housing covermoveably connected to a body of said main housing, said main housingcover being moveable between a closed position and an open position,said main housing cover being connected to said body of said mainhousing when said main housing cover is in said open position and insaid closed position; (b) said flavored beverage dispensing assemblyhaving a housing including a cover moveable between an open position anda closed position, said flavored beverage dispensing assembly furtherincluding a pod receiving member for receiving a pod for dispensing asingle-serving flavored beverage wherein when said cover of said housingof said flavored beverage dispensing assembly is in said open position,a pod for dispensing a single serving beverage can be removed from orinserted into said pod receiving member; and, (c) said flavored beveragedispensing assembly being removable from said main housing so that saidflavored beverage dispensing assembly can be replaced or sanitized whensaid main housing cover is in said open position and wherein saidflavored beverage dispensing assembly is not removable from said mainhousing when said main housing cover is in said closed position.
 15. Theliquid dispenser of claim 14, wherein: (a) said cover of said flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly includes a pod piercing member for piercingsaid pod.
 16. The liquid dispenser of claim 15, wherein: (a) said podpiercing member includes at least one opening for delivering water tosaid pod.
 17. A liquid dispenser for dispensing water and a flavoredbeverage; said liquid dispenser comprising: (a) a water dispensingassembly and a flavored beverage dispensing assembly, said liquiddispenser further including a liquid dispenser housing for storing atleast a portion of the water dispensing assembly and at least a portionof the flavored beverage dispensing assembly; (b) said flavored beveragedispensing assembly being removable from said liquid dispenser housingso that said flavored beverage dispensing assembly can be replaced orsanitized, said flavored beverage dispensing assembly including abeverage pod receptacle for receiving a flavored beverage pod and afirst nozzle for dispensing a flavored beverage from said liquiddispenser, said flavored beverage dispensing assembly being configuredsuch that said beverage pod receptacle of said flavored beveragedispensing assembly and said first nozzle are removable as a singleunit; (c) said water dispensing assembly being removable from saidliquid dispenser housing so that said water dispensing assembly can bereplaced or sanitized, said water dispensing assembly including a waterreservoir, a liquid manifold and a second nozzle for dispensing waterfrom said liquid dispenser, said water dispensing assembly beingconfigured such that said water reservoir, said liquid manifold and saidsecond nozzle are removable as a single unit; and, (d) said flavoredbeverage dispensing assembly being connected to said water dispensingassembly to receive water from said water reservoir of said waterdispensing assembly.
 18. A liquid dispenser of claim 17, wherein: (a)said flavored beverage dispensing assembly includes a cover moveablebetween an open position and a closed position, said cover includes apod piercing member for piercing said pod.
 19. A liquid dispenser ofclaim 17, wherein: (a) said liquid dispenser includes a water storagecontainer disposed below said water reservoir and connected to saidwater reservoir to supply water to said water reservoir.